The foster mother of missing toddler William Tyrrell has broken her two-year long silence to slam police for having ‘done nothing’ to find the young boy.
William vanished from his foster grandmother’s home in Kendall, a small town on the New South Wales Mid North Coast, at just three years old on September 12, 2014.
His disappearance has remained a mystery for 10 years but detectives in 2021 announced they had a new line of investigation with the toddler’s foster mother as their lead person of interest.
Theories aired by top officers alleged William may have died of misadventure and his foster mother disposed of his body.
However, in a rare interview with News Corp, the foster mother – who cannot be named – accused NSW Police of letting William’s abductor slip while it was busy ‘persecuting’ her.
‘I believe that if the police had properly investigated this case, instead of persecuting me, they may well have found the person responsible for William’s disappearance,’ she told the podcast Witness: William Tyrrell.
The foster mother further argued her innocence, saying she has ‘no idea who took William or what happened to him’.
‘For the past five years, the police have done nothing to try to discover who took William and what has happened to him,’ she said.
William Tyrrell (pictured on the day of his disappearance in 2014) vanished from his foster grandmother’s home 10 years ago
William’s foster mother in 2021 was named detectives’ top person of interest with allegations aired she hid the toddler’s body after he died from ‘misadventure’ (picture, William’s foster parents in September, 2023)
‘Instead, they have concentrated all their efforts on trying to build a case that I was in some way to blame for his death, and the disposal of his precious little body.
‘They have gone to great lengths to blacken my character in the media.’
NSW Police were unable to respond to her allegations due to the ongoing coronial inquest into William’s disappearance.
William’s foster mother faced harsh speculation in November 2021 after NSW Police sought an apprehended violence order (AVO) against her in relation to allegations she assaulted another child.
During court proceedings, parts of NSW Police’s theory against her were shared with Detective Sergeant Andrew Lonergan in 2022 claiming she ‘knows where William Tyrrell is’.
‘When asked if police’s theory ‘at its highest’ involved the foster mother interfering with a corpse, he replied ‘yes’.
William’s biological family have also spoken to the podcast with his biological grandmother, Natalie Collins, last week admitting she’d previously ‘hidden’ the boy from authorities.
Ms Collins said she was behind his first disappearance after a court ordered him be taken from his biological parents – her son Brendan Collins and Karlie Tyrrell.
‘So I hid them,’ Ms Collins told the podcast.
‘I hid them for three months after I knew (NSW government officials) were going to take William… I arranged it all.’
William was just seven months old in February 2012 when the court ordered that be taken from his biological parents.
The Department of Family and Community Services was concerned about domestic violence and substance abuse within the boy’s family, a court heard.
William’s mother, Karlie Tyrrell, was at the hearing and so knew her son was going to be placed under the parental responsibility of a NSW government minister.
But when the authorities arrived to collect William from her home that afternoon, the family had gone into hiding with Ms Collins, who said she was the ‘mastermind’ of the disappearance.
William’s foster mother accused NSW Police (pictured searching the Kendall property in 2021) of letting his abductor slip while it was busy ‘persecuting’ her
NSW Police Detective Sergeant Andrew Lonergan in 2022 told a court William’s foster mother ‘knows where William Tyrrell (pictured) is’
A police strike force called Duncraig was set up to find William, and after many failures and wrong turns, it did find him later in 2012, and the boy was placed with foster parents.
That couple, which can’t be identified for legal reasons, reported him missing in 2014.
William has never been seen since and no one has been charged over the disappearance.
The second disappearance a decade ago led to the creation of strike force Rosann.
Ms Collins said given William’s second disappearance, the NSW government ‘didn’t do their job properly’ and should not have taken him from his biological family.
She said ‘this shouldn’t happen these days with foster care children … I’ve got one son in rehab, I’ve got one in jail and my family has been stuffed up.
‘I lost my son and I lost myself on the way.’
The podcast also spoke to a government officer who was there when William was taken from his mother before being placed with his foster parents.
He also wonders is taking William from Ms Tyrrell was the right choice.
‘We take kids off … families all the time,’ the man, who asked to remain anonymous, said, breaking down in tears. ‘You do it. It is part of the job.
‘The thing I get upset about is … we took William off Karlie to protect him. I can still see myself walking into that bloody unit … And there was William, on the floor.
‘And I just think … did we do the right thing? Would he still be alive? Maybe.’
William’s biological grandmother, Natalie Collins, admitted she’d previously hidden the toddler (pictured) in 2012 after the court ordered he be taken from his biological parents
William was last seen at his foster grandmother’s home (pictured) in Kendall, on the NSW Mid North Coast
The man said he still regularly thinks about William Tyrrell. ‘Not day to day, but it does affect me. Because it keeps coming back.’
The inquest into William’s suspected death will resume in November.
A Department of Communities and Justice spokesperson told Daily Mail Australia: ‘No comment will be given in relation to the ongoing coronial investigation into the disappearance and suspected death of William Tyrrell.’
